We’ve looked at Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty’s record as it applies to hockey – his misappropriation of a dubious Gretzky “quote,” his penchant for pickup games (photo-ops) in early primary states and the use of mites as props in his campaign commercials.

According to most pundits, TPaw is struggling, struggling bad. His campaign mouthpiece is already tamping down expectations of his performance in this month’s Iowa Straw Poll, “We want to show progress in Ames, [do] better than sixth or seventh,” Alex Conant told National Review. A sixth or seventh place finish guarantees you a playoff spot in the NHL, but certainly not the GOP.

Now TPaw is back at it again trying to bask in the reflective glory of hockey heroes, in this case the 1980 US Olympic team. “You fight, you bleed, you prevail,” he tells us in a gauzy, feel-good TV spot which features iconic footage from that storied game. Hitching his wagon/Zamboni to the Miracle on Ice team isn’t a bad idea; he may need divine intervention to lift him out of the 2012 basement where he’s polling at under 4%, leading Rick Santorum yet trailing the wounded happy warrior Newt Gingrich.

Tim Pawlenty has to believe in miracles – it might be his only chance.